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What Is the Right Way to Fire an Employee?

Written by: Stuart Schneiderman

Article Overview: Firing staff is one of the more difficult job that any executive faces. Making use of some advice offered by Jack and Suzy Welch I explain the right and the wrong ways of doing it.

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What Is the Right Way to Fire an Employee?

Jack and Suzy Welch offer some excellent character-building advice.

Discussing the right way to fire a person, they say: “…HR must insist that managers accept their duty, which is to be in on the one conversation at work that must be personal. Pink slips should be delivered face to face, eyeball to eyeball.”

Amen.

Hopefully, it is not the only conversation that is personal, but surely they are right.

At times it happens that a company will outsource the process, calling in a consultant, an unknown, a cipher, to break the bad news.

But, the Welches say, if you are the manager you are obligated to do it yourself. Note well: if you follow you bliss you will beg off.

The stakes are high, and often overlooked. Yet, if you do not treat everyone with respect, they will be less likely to respect you. And if you want things to get done, being respectful is essential.

I have know many people who are physically tough and brave, but who often shirk unpleasant duties. They are more than willing to get into a fist-fight, but cower in the cower when they are obliged to deliver bad news to a person’s face.

Yet, someone who refuses to show enough respect to speak to another person face to face is diminishing himself, disrespecting the other person, and losing face.

Why? Because, what goes around comes around. Karma will out. If you refuse to face your soon-to-be-ex lover, your character will likely abandon you when you need it. Just because you can get away with breaking up via email or text message does not mean that you should.

The Welches declare that firing someone is a moment of truth.

You are not going to become a better person by getting in touch with your feelings or by acting according to your heart’s desire. You will better yourself by doing the right thing, by showing respect to another person, even if that means that you have to face his pain, when you have directly, perhaps inevitably, caused the pain.

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Article Tags: bad news, better person, bliss, character building, cipher, desire, doing the right thing, email, eyeball to eyeball, feelings, fist fight, heart, jack and suzy welch, losing face, moment of truth, person face, pink slips, text message

About the Author: Stuart Schneiderman
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I began my career as a psychotherapist. Having spent too much time trying to figure out why people get it wrong, I changed course and started helping them to get it right. As a business coach I show people how to lead and manage, how to negotiate and organize. And I especially work on developing good behavior and good character, in oneself and in others.

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